Race for the White House

Republican Establishment Treads Lightly on Trump After Muslim Ban Proposal

The latest outburst by the New York billionaire once again puts GOP leaders in a bind between their core voter base and desire to expand the party's appeal.

Paul Ryan on Donald Trump: This Is Not Conservatism

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Donald Trump's explosive remarks calling for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S." quickly sparked an enormous amount of criticism on both sides of the political spectrum. But prominent Republican leaders were more cautious as they searched for a way to admonish the man leading the race for their party's presidential nomination.

Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus, who in August called Trump's candidacy a "net positive" for the party, pushed back briefly against Trump's proposal. "I don't agree," Priebus told the Washington Examiner in an interview. "We need to aggressively take on radical Islamic terrorism but not at the expense of our American values."